We Are Close In Distance

We Are Close In Distance is an exhibition considering how physical, temporal, and archival space has the power to unite as well as divide through the excavation of interpersonal, intergenerational, and spatial intimacies. The participating artists comprise a diverse and multigenerational group. Working across media including painting, photography, poetry, performance, video, sculpture, and zines, the artists participating in We Are Close in Distance explore how intimacies are constructed, deteriorate, and are consequently reclaimed as part of the culmination of the continuously unfolding present and the lingering past. Investigating the poetics of a fleeting closeness from personal and cultural perspectives, the artists excavate the contested nature of legacies and diasporas. Challenging conceptions of our relationships with one another, with communities, and between generations, works created by the artists featured in the exhibition range from the deeply earnest to the irreverently critical in their introspective social critique. Extending the gallery into a corresponding environment of zines, poetry installations, and postcards for visitor activation, We Are Close in Distance considers how art can illuminate often overlooked cultural, familial, and interpersonal relationalities. Through programs including live performances and film screenings, and by encouraging interaction with zines and mailable art, the exhibition empowers visitors and artists alike to question how one can care for and nourish their community through art, performance, and ephemera.

We Are Close In Distance is organized by the USC Roski School of Art and Design 2023 MA Curatorial Practices and the Public Sphere cohort: Storm Bria-Rose Bookhard, taylor brock, Nadia R. Estrada, Tracy Fenix, Jiayi Hu, Valencia Monroe, Adrianne Ramsey, Diego Dela Rosa, Jonas Short, Haiyang (Kevy) Yang and Bryce Zeffert.